Son of Happy

How would you feel if your dad were a clown?

The boy in this story never wants to go to his friends’ birthday parties, because Happy the Clown is always there. And Happy is … his dad.

He wishes his dad had a regular job, like all the other kids’ parents. He didn’t mind his dad being a clown when he was a little kid, but now it’s just embarrassing. And even worse, since business is slow, his dad is putting a sign on the front lawn advertising his clown services!

But one night at dinner Dad announces that he’s going back to his old job of being a lawyer. “You were a lawyer?” the boy asks, incredulous.

Now his dad wears a suit and tie to work, the family can buy a new car, his mom can take piano lessons, and he can have a skateboard and cellphone. But something feels different. The boy wonders if his dad misses being a clown. Or is he the one who misses Happy?

With bittersweet humor, Cary Fagan brings us a story about a boy’s growing consciousness and a father’s realization that he can be himself.

Key Text Features
speech bubbles

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

Cary Fagan's kids' books include Robot Island; Hans Christian Andersen Lives Next Door; Water, Water (winner of the Vine National Canadian Jewish Book Award); The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster; the Kaspar Snit novels; and the Wolfie and Fly chapter book series. He is also the author of many picture books, including Mr. Zinger's Hat (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award winner), Little Blue Chair, and Bear Wants to Sing.  Cary has received the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People for his body of work.  He lives in Toronto, Canada.

MILAN PAVLOVIĆ lives in Toronto with his family. When he is not illustrating picture books, drawing or playing the ukulele, he is teaching visual communication and illustration at OCAD University and Seneca College. He has illustrated over fifty children's books including Son of Happy by Cary Fagan, The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle by Anne Renaud, and Moon Wishes by Guy and Patricia Storms. He created the lyrical wordless picture book Sonata for Fish and Boy.

• CBC Books Best Canadian Picture BooksCommended 2020

“[A] heartwarming story … Milan Pavlović’s mixed-media illustrations have a childlike feel with scribbly lines and crayon shading. … Cary Fagan’s text is ideal for early readers — simple with lots of short sentences and a pleasing rhythm.” — Quill & Quire

“[An] impressively entertaining story for young readers.” — Midwest Book Review